This excellent LEGO courtyard scene by David FNJ reminds me of an ancient Greek temple. Probably due to those amazing round columns and the open air design of the building. All this scene is missing to complete the Grecian theme is a couple of nude sculptures. In addition to those great columns, the roof on this structure is also quite nice. I’m not sure how David constructed it. But maybe you can figure it out by looking at the bird’s-eye view photo for the roof details.
Posts by Jennifer
A classy bar worthy of any LEGO town
I am not familiar with the comedy stylings of Les Inconnus, but I know that this LEGO Le F** Blue Bar based on that French comedy sketch is quite striking. Builder Kloou used vibrant, contrasting colors and tons of little details to make this build shine. The back of the building swings open on a hinge revealing a completely furnished interior. Perhaps the most noticeable feature of this bar is the great brick-built lettering, but my favorite detail is that door with the little sliding panel which I presume is used for asking “what’s the password?”
The Edge: Step into a LEGO painting
It’s not often that I see a LEGO creation and think to myself “this is art.” But Lukasz Wiktorowicz‘s most recent build, “the Edge” certainly is art. Using both classic architecture and surrealist imagery, Lukasz created an absolutely stunning build. The proportions on this thing are spot on and the details are ridiculously, well, detailed. But what really pushes this build over the top is Lukasz’s out-of-the-box building techniques.
Normally I’m a stickler for lining up LEGO bricks perfectly (90 or 180 degree angles only, people!). A little crease from a cattywampus brick in an otherwise smooth wall is a downright sin in my book. But Lukasz purposefully stacked the bricks in his four pillars all askew and the resulting texture is fantastic! Another creative feature of this build is the base. When I accumulate a boxful of seemingly useless bricks, I shove them to the back of my shelf and forget about them. Instead of doing the same, Lukasz used those ball socket bricks to create an unconventional base for his build that makes the whole thing look like it is floating. Well done all around.
Visit to Catwoman’s Cat Lair is not going well for Batman
Finally! After seeing others build Batman a LEGO batcave and Joker a LEGO funhouse, someone finally built Catwoman a secret home to call her very own. That someone is Jenn Lee and her kitty-friendly creation is purrfect! After all, what Catwoman lair would be complete without a 70s-style Catwoman costume, an entire wardrobe of sparkly capes, wigs, and handbags, and, of course, a boiling pit of lava to dispose of your enemies? I’m not sure if Batman and Robin were invited or decided to pop by unannounced for a visit, but either way, it seems they’ve overstayed their welcome.
A rebellion built on hope
There have been a ton of incredible Star Wars-themed LEGO creations coming out of the IDS Moc Olympics and Paul Trach‘s Yavin IV Rebel Workshop is one of them! This little scene looks good enough to be a potential movie set from the upcoming Rouge One film. I’m not sure what these rebels are up to, but they certainly look busy. The overall muted color palette works quite nicely and the stone walls have a perfect combination of texture, clean lines, and angles.
An existential crisis
Peter Reid‘s loveable space robot Keko, also known as the K3 Series Mechanoid, has been forced to come to grips with a terrifying discovery. He was once a LEGO sprue! Seriously, this build is pure genius with its clean design and elegant simplicity. My favorite bit of all is the tiled LEGO flooring that seems to curve away into nothingness and for some reason has a very 80s feel to it reminding me of the old arcade game Marble Madness.
LEGO scenes from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
First, we were blown away with tiny scenes from The Sorcerer’s Stone, then with vignettes from The Chamber of Secrets. And now (you guessed it) we have a series of wonderful LEGO scenes from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. This time around, the master builder behind the month-long madness was Kevin Wollert. In total, Kevin built 23 amazing Potter-themed vignettes. Each of the scenes took me back to the first time I read the book (the best one in the series if you ask me). I especially appreciate how Kevin was able to capture the dark tones of this story.
Click here to see the full set
All who gain power are afraid to lose it. Even the Jedi.
Say what you will about Episodes I through III, but I can appreciate a climactic turning point in a character’s story arc. I can appreciate it, even more, when such a scene is translated into LEGO! Cecilie Fritzvold beautifully captured the final scene of the opening sequence from Revenge of the Sith where Anakin begins his journey to the dark side by killing Count Dooku. The amount of detail jammed into this LEGO scene is fantastic! I love the microscale ships in the background, Palpatine’s clikits handcuffs, and of course, the prone, unconscious body of Obi-Wan in the foreground.
In case you missed it earlier this month, Cecilie also built a micro-podracer from The Phantom Menace. As always, be sure to check out all of Cecilie’s builds on Flickr and may the force be with you.
Down the rabbit hole
Since the release of the Collectible Disney Minigures earlier this year, I’ve been waiting to see the adorable Alice figure put to great use. And that’s exactly what The Knit Knight has done here! Knight built the iconic scene where Alice falls down the rabbit hole in her quest to crash the white rabbit’s party. This LEGO scene is truly complete, including excellently-built, falling furniture, striped wallpaper, sweets and fizzy drinks (presumably all labeled “eat me” and “drink me”), a miniature rabbit-sized door, and even a tiny Dinah waving goodbye to Alice from the real world.
A Board Game of High Kings
I’ve never heard of the ancient board game Ard Ri (more commonly known as Tafl or Hnefatafl), but this beautiful LEGO version built by Dan Harris and his girlfriend Dot makes me want to learn how to play. One of the oldest games in the world, Ard Ri (which means “High King” in Gaelic) was a Scottish variant of tafl played on a 9×9 board. Dan built the board structure and the stunning figurines that look like they were hand carved from ivory and wood. Dot built the incredible cheese slope mosaic which serves as the game’s board. I love the ship silhouettes and the intricate scrollwork and dragon head surrounding the king’s seat.
The rules of the game are pretty straightforward. Using 8 soldiers to protect his king, the defending player must move the King from its starting place at the center of the board to one of the four corners. If the King reaches a corner, he escapes and wins the game. The opposing player, of course, must use his 16 soldiers to stop the King from escaping. All game pieces move horizontally or vertically through any number of unoccupied squares (like a Rook piece in chess) and pieces are captured by “sandwiching” an opposing player’s piece between two of your own. (I like to imagine that each of the victorious soldiers on either side of a captured piece grabs one of the captured soldier’s elbows and politely, but firmly, escorts him off of the board in the fashion of two mall security guards escorting an obnoxious teenager out of a store.) To capture the king, you must surround him on all four sides (two security guards per elbow). The game ends when the King either escapes or his captured.
Buckle your pants for this LEGO BattleBlock Theater cat guard!
If you’ve played BattleBlock Theater before, then you’ll definitely recognize this adorable cat guard built by Letranger Absurde. If you’ve haven’t played the game before, let me just say it’s pretty much exactly like soccer, except more like basketball, and nothing like soccer. Absurde perfectly captured the soulless gaze and boxy stature of the game’s heartless prison guards. I’d love to have this guy sitting on my desk at work. My productivity would likely triple under this little guy’s iron paw!
This post was brought to you by yarn. Yarn, it’s a ball!
Not your run of the mill castle
I love LEGO castles, but I have to admit, they can get a little stale from time to time (especially the castles I build which tend to suffer from “big grey wall” syndrome). One of the simplest ways to build an exciting and fresh castle is to look at non-Medieval European castles for inspiration. That’s exactly what Marco den Besten did for his most recent build. Presumably using both Nordic and Asian culture as inspiration, Marco created an incredibly detailed and truly original castle that looks like you could find it hidden away in Middle Earth or possibly Azeroth.